best shotgun mic for GH1?

N

Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
I'm about to shoot a number of talking head interviews with my GH1 for the first time, and I'd love to know what is the best shotgun mic or mic solution for the GH1?

Would it be better to use a lavalier instead or is shotgun preferable?
 
Depends on your situation, is there an interviewer and interviewee or are you asking the questions from behind the camera .. indoors or out, sit down or run and gun, quiet location or noisy? Do you have a boom op?
cheers.
 
Hi Raster and everyone else, thank you all for your help.

I would essentially be conducting the interviews myself, or better yet have an assistant monitor the GH1 while I ask the questions.
 
As has been discussed here previously, because you can't monitor audio _out_ of a DSLR "live" while recording, it's generally not recommended to rely on a DSLR's built-in audio recording capability.

An exception can be a situation where you can immediately take the time to carefully review playback of each take to confirm good sound _and_ it's OK to re-do takes if there was an easily correctable problem. I've done this, and it can work well depending on the situation. But it's not foolproof. YMMV.

Problems with sound are all too frequent: Poor mic placement, poor or unplugged mic cable connections, cellphone interference, wind or breath pops or rumble, dying or dead mic battery, AC or other background noise, clothing rustling, wireless mic interference, etc., etc. That's why live monitoring through good headphones is so important. With DSLRs, that means using an external recorder, and live monitor it. (Note: Using an external mixer with a headphone jack together with a DSLR does _not_ provide live monitoring of what the DSLR itself is recording. It only lets you hear what's going into the mixer. That's not the same thing!)

But sure, recording sound directly into a DSLR can sorta kinda work. It's occasionally worked for me. But it's not appropriate in most situations.

Here's a situation where it did kinda sorta work, using a handheld wireless short shotgun mic -- really asking for trouble! :-)
http://www.vimeo.com/12000889
 
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I had the BeackTek SVU-2 already to monitor audio on various devices in the field so I tested it with the GH1 and it works great using the AV output cable for the GH1.

Record a video clip then listen to it right afterwards by playing it back and using the SVU-2 headphone jack and level control. It also has meter calibration adjustments for the left and right channels which is helpful. Powered by a 9V battery.

It can be directly mounted under the GH1 using Canon FD lenses with the audio meters facing you but the kit lens is just a little too wide in diameter and the zoom ring rubs against the top of the SVU-2. It can be mounted sideways and you can use the kit lens with it or just make a belt clip and hang it on your belt.

SVU2.jpg


To take it a step further there is also a composite video/audio loop through so you could actually have the audio and video from the GH1 hooked up to a video monitor with speakers and check both that way. Composite SD video only but still not bad to be able to check audio/video quickly and directly from the GH1.

SVU2Bk.jpg


http://www.expandore.com/product/add/BeachTek/SVU2.htm

Randy
 
What about it? It doesn't enable live headphone monitoring during a take, if that's what you're asking. :-)

It's a so-so mic; there are many better mics. Generally you shouldn't use an on-camera mic for recording interviews. The mic is usually way too far away from the mouth of the person talking to get good sound. Even a quality (e.g.: expensive) shotgun mic can't perform magic in this regard.

Put the mic as close as possible to the sound source, and then move it closer. Use a wind-sock/jammer if there's even the slightest breeze. Move away from background noises. Monitor the sound with good headphones during every take. These are all more important than the choice of which mic to use. If possible, record sound to an external audio recorder designed for the purpose. Be happy. Good luck! :-)
 
I have Panasonic DMW-MS1 and it's utterly terrible. First of all half the time you can't tell it's on. Is the battery OK? Is this thing running? No idea - only way to tell is when you turn it on and it blinks. Second of all, the quality is sometimes worse than with built in mic. Wind cutting is non-existent. Recorded this with it the other day in a not-so-windy park:
http://www.vimeo.com/12722024
pointing it straight at the guitar amplifier. It picked up tons and tons of ambient noise. So much for directionality. It's simply embarrassing at times.

I hear good things about Rode mic - might try it at some point.
 
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